Through her RX Girls: Miami blog, Monik Lopez-Calleja is starting a global community of strong women who believe in themselves.

The first time I stepped foot into a CrossFit box was for the grand opening of CrossFit Kingdom. That workout killed me, but it also did something else: it showed me that I could have fun working out. My husband and I signed up that day and committed to three months.

Those first two weeks were some of the most challenging workouts of my life, but in a very short time I began to feel a change in myself. I was hooked. Every day after I came home, I would post on Facebook what I had just done. When I hit a PR, I wrote about it. When I got my first pull-up, I wrote about it.

I would also spend a lot of time on different CrossFit blogs reading motivating stories about how people’s lives had changed because of the program. I felt more motivated than I had ever been, and I wanted to see if other people were as stoked about this as I was. What I found out is there are tons of people out there who felt the same way. I started talking more to the girls at CrossFit Kingdom and sharing stories with them. That’s when I decided to start my own blog, RX Girls: Miami.

10 Comments on “Look, Ma: No Bands!”

Excellent article- I am starting my journey as a CrossFit coach with my upcoming CFE cert., and hopefully soon my Level One- I currently run an outdoor Kettlebell/Boxing Condtioning boot camp for women in FL-it's alawys great to read about other women who try to empower women and get them to believe that you can be strong and feminine at the same time.

Monik has been a tremendous inspiration to my wife & I. A year ago when she & our son (her husband Daniel) started Crossfit, we were skepical about all that money they were spending when they could just go over to a GloboGym for $20/month, use shiny equipment & have access to a nice air-conditioned facility. Little did I know that soon thereafter we would each (1st me & later my wife) would attend one of their Saturday morning freebie WODs & whoaaaa!!!!... we got hooked.

Crossfit has changed our family completely... Mo & Danny, the young hardbodies & My wife Desi & I are now "Mom & Pop" at the box... I was a fat, diabetic, high cholesterol, high triglyceride, heart patient,carotid artery surgery surviving, 40-yr smoker that had recently had kidney & knee surgery (twice in a year) & taking 10 medications a day... I'll let my wife speak for herself...but the point is that following Monik & Danny's example & good coaching, we still can't do anything Rx (and that's perfectly fine), but our health, our lives & our outlook have been totally transformed. I turn 54 this week & have not felt like I feel today in 25 or more years. Monik (& Danny)'s entusiasm for crossfit & leadership by example have touched many around them.

We tell everyone we can about how crossfit has changed our lives... I've wodded at our local box & at hotel gyms throughout latin america...everyone asks...whatcha doin? (actually ...¿Que estas haciendo?) and I tell'em that I'm saving my life. Thanks Mo!!!

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